BBC executives are having to revert to PC-based email and phones following a bug in the BlackBerry software
BBC switches off BlackBerry service
/v3-uk/news/1997252/bbc-switches-blackberry-service
26 Oct 2005, Ken Young , V3
The BBC has suspended the BlackBerry PDA service used by more than 300 senior executives, including Director General Mark Thompson.
A BBC spokeswoman told vnunet.com: "Last week we noticed a fault in that some users were getting fragments of other people's email in their own email. So we suspended the service and it will remain suspended until it is fixed."
Executives are having to revert to PC-based email and phones rather than use the BlackBerry devices which allow them to make phone calls as well as receive texts and emails.
The BBC's IT services supplier, Siemens, is taking responsibility for solving the problem.
BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion said in a statement: "RIM has developed and tested a fix for an obscure bug identified in a specific service pack release for BlackBerry Enterprise Server.
"The bug was isolated to version 4.02 and does not exist in version 4.03 or other earlier versions. RIM is aware of a single reported incident of the bug, and responded promptly with a fix."
The bug related to a "rare conjunction" of circumstances "whereby v4.02 failed to properly compensate for an unusual memory allocation error generated by a company's mail server and consequently appended a partial message to another email.
"Neither the original message or the appended partial message were ever exposed outside the company's firewall and the bug did not generate any external risk. Customers using v4.02 may obtain this fix from RIM or install v4.03."
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Do you agree?
Suprised?
This is a serious security breach, and the question I want to know is what RIM is doing to reduce the risk of other "obscure bugs"? Has this application been developed in a rush to ensure market leadership before the competitors start to grow in size?
Posted by WT, 27 Oct 2005
Where does the Firewall come in ?
The comment below which I assume came from the manufacturer is providing a questionable sense of security for those affected. Surely the firewall does not come into play when you send an Email that contains sensitive information that was not intended for the recipient. The comment again went .. "Neither the original message or the appended partial message were ever exposed outside the company's firewall and the bug did not generate any external risk"
Posted by Derek O'Callagahn, 15 Dec 2005